IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


1.0 


I.I 


IIM    112.5 


ilM  m22 

"     111112.0 


1.8 


1.25      1.4      1.6 

« 6" 

► 

v^ 


^ 


/} 


'cf-l 


<?j 


o 


/ 


Photographic 

Sciences 
Corporation 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y    14580 

(716)  872-4503 


¥     MP. 


^o 


C/j 


CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


CIHM/ICMH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


Canadian  Institute  for  Historical  Microreproductions  /  Institut  canadien  de  microreproductions  historiques 


Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notes/Notes  techniques  et  bibliographiques 


The  Institute  has  attempted  to  obtain  the  best 
original  copy  available  for  filming.  Features  of  this 
copy  which  may  be  bibliographically  unique, 
which  may  alter  any  of  the  images  in  the 
reproduction,  or  which  may  significantly  change 
the  usual  method  of  filming,  are  checlced  below. 


D 


n 


D 


Coloured  covers/ 
Couverture  de  couleur 


I      I    Covers  damaged/ 


Couverture  endommagee 

Covers  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
Couverture  restaurde  et/ou  pelliculde 

Cover  title  missing/ 

Le  titre  de  couverture  manque 

Coloured  maps/ 

Cartes  gdographiques  en  couleur 

Coloured  ink  (i.e.  other  than  blue  or  black)/ 
Encre  de  couleur  (i.e.  autre  que  bleue  ou  noire) 


I      I    Coloured  plates  and/or  illustrations/ 


D 


Planches  et/ou  illustrations  en  couleur 

Bound  with  other  material/ 
Reli6  avec  d'autres  documents 

Tight  binding  may  cause  shadows  or  distortion 
along  interior  margin/ 

La  reliure  serr^e  peut  causer  de  I'ombre  ou  de  la 
distortion  le  long  de  la  marge  intdrieure 

Blank  leaves  added  during  restoration  may 
appear  within  the  text.  Whenever  possible,  these 
have  been  omitted  from  filming/ 
II  se  peut  que  certaines  pages  blanches  ajout^es 
lors  d'une  restauration  apparaissent  dans  le  texte, 
mais,  lorsque  cela  6tait  possible,  ces  pages  n'ont 
pas  6t6  film^es. 

Additional  comments;/ 
Commentaires  suppldmentaires: 


Tl 
tc 


L'Institut  a  microfilm^  le  meilleur  exemplaire 
qu'il  lui  a  6t6  possible  de  se  procurer.  Les  details 
de  cet  exemplaire  qui  sont  peut-dtre  uniques  du 
point  de  vue  bibliographique,  qui  peuvent  modifier 
une  image  reproduite,  ou  qui  peuvent  exiger  une 
modification  dans  la  mithode  normale  de  filmage 
sont  indiquds  ci-dessous. 


I     "I    Coloured  pages/ 


D 
D 

D 


D 


Pages  de  couleur 

Pages  damaged/ 
Pages  endommagdes 

Pages  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
Pages  restaurdes  et/ou  pelliculdes 

Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxed/ 
Pages  ddcolordes,  tachetdes  ou  piqu^es 

Pages  detached/ 
Pages  d6tach6es 


I      I    Showthrough/ 


Transparence 

Quality  of  print  vanes/ 
Quality  in^gale  de  I'impression 

Includes  supplementary  material/ 
Comprend  du  matdriel  supplementaire 

Only  edition  available/ 
Seule  Edition  disponible 


Pages  wholly  or  partially  obscured  by  errata 
slips,  tissues,  etc.,  have  been  refilmed  to 
ensure  the  best  possible  image/ 
Les  pages  totalement  ou  partiellement 
obscurcies  par  un  feuillet  d'errata,  une  peture, 
etc.,  ont  6t6  filmdes  d  nouveau  de  fagon  d 
obtenir  la  meilleure  image  possible. 


Tl 
P< 

01 

fi 


O 
b( 
tf 
si 

01 

fi 
si 
oi 


Tl 
si 

Tl 

M 

IV 
di 
ei 
b( 
rii 
re 
m 


This  item  is  filmed  at  the  reduction  ratio  checked  below/ 

Ce  document  est  filmd  au  taux  de  reduction  indiqud  ci-dessous. 

10X  14X  18X  22X 


2SX 


30X 


J 


12X 


16X 


20X 


a4x 


28X 


32X 


e 

§tails 
s  du 
lodifier 
r  une 
Image 


The  copy  filmed  here  has  been  reproduced  thanks 
to  the  generosity  of: 

National  Library  of  Canada 


The  images  appearing  here  are  the  best  quality 
possible  considering  the  condition  and  legibility 
of  the  original  copy  and  in  keeping  with  the 
filming  contract  specifications. 


L'exemplaire  film6  fut  reproduit  grdce  d  la 
n6n6rosit6  de: 

Bibliothdque  nationale  du  Canada 


Les  images  suivantes  ont  6t6  reproduites  avec  le 
plus  grand  soin,  compte  tenu  de  la  condition  et 
de  la  nettetd  de  l'exemplaire  film6,  et  en 
conformity  avec  les  conditions  du  contrat  de 
filmage. 


Original  copies  in  printed  paper  covers  are  filmed 
beginning  with  the  front  cover  and  ending  on 
the  last  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, or  the  back  cover  when  appropriate.  All 
other  original  copies  are  filmed  beginning  on  the 
first  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, and  ending  on  the  last  page  with  a  printed 
or  illustrated  impression. 


ts 


Les  exemplaires  originaux  dont  la  couverture  en 
papier  est  imprimde  sont  film^s  en  commenpant 
par  le  premier  plat  et  en  terminant  soit  par  la 
dernidre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration,  soit  par  le  second 
plat,  selon  le  cas.  Tous  les  autres  exemplaires 
originaux  sont  film6s  en  commen^ant  par  la 
premidre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration  et  en  terminant  par 
la  dernidre  page  qui  comporte  une  telle 
empreinte. 


The  last  recorded  frame  on  each  microfiche 
shall  contain  the  symbol  —^>  (meaning  "CON- 
TINUED "),  or  the  symbol  V  (meaning  "END"), 
whichever  applies. 


Un  des  symboles  suivants  apparaitra  sur  la 
dernidre  image  de  cheque  microfiche,  selon  le 
cas:  le  symbole  -^  signifie  "A  SUIVRE",  le 
symbole  V  signifie  "FIN". 


Maps,  plates,  charts,  etc.,  may  be  filmed  at 
different  reduction  ratios.  Those  too  large  to  be 
entirely  included  in  one  exposure  are  filmed 
beginning  in  the  upper  left  hand  corner,  left  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  as  many  frames  as 
required.  The  following  diagrams  illustrate  the 
method: 


Les  cartes,  planches,  tableaux,  etc.,  peuvent  dtre 
filmis  d  des  taux  de  reduction  diff^rents. 
Lorsque  le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  etre 
reproduit  en  un  seul  clich6,  il  est  filmd  d  partir 
de  Tangle  sup6rieur  gauche,  de  gauche  i  droite, 
et  de  haut  en  bas,  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'images  n6cessaire.  Les  diagrammes  suivants 
illustrent  la  mdthode. 


9rrata 
to 


peture, 
m  d 


n 

32X 


1 

2 

3 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

r 


r 


R  E  P  O  R  T 


OF 


THE   CABOT   PROCEEDINGS 


AT    TIIK 


HALIFAX   MEETING 


OK 


Cf)e  Eopal  ^ocietp  of  Canalia 


Junk  21-2r)   1897 


BY 


KKV.  KDWARI)   (J.  roRTEIi 


[Prkbkntki)   at    the   Octohku    Mki-.ting    of   the    Massachi'SETts 
m  i stoh i (■  a  i,   s()(^ i kt  v  1 


/ 


CAMBRinCE 
JOHN     W  I  I- SON     AND     SON 

Knibrrsitu  ytrss 
1897 


THE 


CABOT  CELEBRATION    AT   HALIFAX. 


■jt\ 


At  a  meeting  of  the  Massachusetts  Histohical 
Society,  held  in  Boston,  on  Thursday,  October  14, 
1897,  the  following  paper  by  the  Rev.  Edward  G. 
Porter  was  presented  :  — 

At  the  request  of  the  President,  I  had  the  honor  to  represent 
the  Society  as  its  delegate  at  the  meeting  of  the  Royal  Society 
of  Canada,  last  June.  Tiiis  meeting  was  made  especially 
memorable  by  the  observance  of  two  important  anniversaries ; 
namely,  the  fourth  cetitenary  of  Cabot's  landfall,  and  the 
Diamond  Jubilee  of  her  Majesty  Queen  Victoria. 

Tiie  Royal  Society  ordinarily  holds  its  meetings  at  Ottawa ; 
but  this  year  Halifax  was  selected  on  account  of  its  advanta- 
geous position  upon  the  seaboard  much  nearer  the  scene  to 
be  commemorated.  The  Society  had  also  planned  to  erect  a 
memorial  of  Cabot's  great  achievement ;  and  as  no  one  spot 
could  be  agreed  upon  as  the  "  land  first  seen,"  the  committee 
wisely  decided  to  phice  a  bronze  tablet  in  the  Province  IIou.se 
at  Halifax. 

All  the  arrangements  for  the  meeting  were  carried  out  on  a 
generous  scale.  The  Society  invited  as  its  guests  delegates 
from  the  city  of  Bristol,  the  city  of  Venice,  tlie  Royal  Geo- 
graphical Society  of  London,  and  from  several  Universities 
and  Historical  Societies  in  Canada  and  the  United  States. 
The  government  of  Nova  Scotia  and  a  committee  of  the 
citizens  of  Halifax  joined  the  committee  of  the  Royal  Society 
in  extending  the  courtesies  of  the  occasion.  The  meeting.s  con- 
tinued from  the  21st  to  the  25th  of  June,  and  were  generally 


held  ill  the  Logishitive  Council  Cliiiml)er  of  the  Provincial 
IJuildinfj,  —  ix  fnu!  stone  structure  of  modest  proportions,  en- 
closed in  shaded  ^Mounds,  reniindin<,'  one  of  the  older  puhlic 
l)uildinj];s  of  the  mother  country,  and  (|uite  as  dingy  and  ven- 
erable in  aj)itearan(;e.  T\\v.  22d  was  given  up  to  the  Queen's 
Jul)il(!e,  and  tlie  24th  to  the  dedication  of  the  Cabot  tablet. 

Among  the  papers  read  befoie  the  Historical  section  were 
three  which  attracted  special  attention,  as  they  related  to  the 
great  discovery.  The  iirst  was  by  the  Hon.  John  lioyd 
Thacher,  mayor  of  Albany  and  author  of  the  recent  sumptu- 
ous volume  entitled  "  'i'he  Continent  of  America :  Its  Discovery 
and  liaptism."  Mr.  Thacher  carefully  laid  out  the  course  of 
the  "Mftthew,"  following  the  scanty  information  furnished  by 
Pasqualigo  and  Soncino.  He  imagined  a  fixed  course  and  a 
fixed  measurement  of  distance,  and  was  led  thereby  to  favor 
Labrador,  "somewhere  near  Hudson's  straits,"  as  the  landfall. 
"  We  '<ave  picked  our  way  through  ice  and  doubt,"  he  said  in 
concluding,  "  but  one  thing  is  clear :  it  was  an  English  ship 
that  crossed  the  ocean ;  English  feet  first  trod  these  northern 
shores ;  English  hands  planted  the  familiar  ensign  and  took 
possession  in  the  name  of  Henry  VH.  It  matters  not  whether 
it  was  John  or  Sebastian,  whether  it  was  Labrador  or  New- 
foundland or  Cape  Breton.  The  title  to  all  this  goodly  terri- 
tory runs  from  ocean  to  ocean.  The  vision  was  Cathay  ;  the 
reality  was  America.''  Mr.  Thacher  exhibited  an  autograph 
letter  of  Henry  VII.  and  other  original  documents. 

The  next  paper  on  the  subject  was  by  Samuel  E.  Dawson, 
Lit.  D.,  of  Ottawa,  whose  previous  contributions  to  the  Tvans- 
actions  of  the  Society  have  been  highly  valued  for  the  pains- 
taking research  as  well  as  for  the  calm  judicial  tone  wliich 
they  always  exhibit.  Dr.  Dawson  alluded  to  his  monograph 
of  1804,  and  said  that  although  it  had  occasioned  considerable 
comment,  he  had  seen  no  new  arguments  against  it,  —  nothing 
whatever  to  invalidate  his  conclusions. 

There  were  now,  he  said,  only  two  advocates  for  the  New- 
foundland theory  (I  suppose  he  meant  Judge  Prowse  and 
Bishop  Howley),  and  Labrador  is  put  out  of  court  by  all 
Canadians.  Most  of  the  earlier  writers  have  steadily  confused 
the  two  voyages.  The  first  one  was  not  a  survey,  but  only  a 
reconnoissance.  He  considers  the  Cosa  map  of  1500  in  part  a 
transcript  of  the  1497  voyage  made  by  Jolm  Cabot  himself. 


Cavo  dv  YiKjlaterra  is  Cape  Kfxce.  This  he  coiisul<!rs  the  ciir- 
iliiial  point  on  whioh  the  wiiolo  doltiite  turns  Cape  IJrcton 
is  the  (Javo  desciibierfo  of  Cosa's  map,  and  the  I'riiiui  I'txtd  of 
the  Mappemontle  of  ir)44. 

Dr.  Dawson  acknowledges  liis  great  indelttedness  to  Har- 
risse,  but  cannot  follow  him  in  some  of  his  recent  con- 
clusions, as,  for  example,  when  he  sends  Cabot  —  wlio  does 
not  mention  ice —  up  to  63  degrees  two  weeks  before  June  24. 
lie  evidently  does  not  know  Labrador  when  he  writes  of  /mrcu- 
laoH ;  for  codfish  do  not  arrive  at  ('ape  Chidley  till  Aut^ust. 
Harrisse  disclaims  for  Spain  any  jealousy,  but  the  Bull  of 
Partition  jjoints  to  another  conclusion. 

As  to  Sebastian  Cabot,  Dr.  Dawson  reminds  us  that  the 
standard  of  truth  in  the  Renaissance  period  was  not  iiigh. 
VVinsor's  Columl)us  shows  us  that.  Sebastian  should  not  be 
dismissed  as  a  liar.  We  must  remember  that  we  have  nothing 
from  his  own  pen.  If  he  was  such  a  fraud  as  is  now  claimed  by 
some  writers,  so  were  Ferdinand,  (^^harles  V.,  and  Henry  VIII. 
The  Court  of  Spain  had  many  able  sailors  who  would  surely 
have  detected  gross  falsehood  in  a  foreigner  like  Sebastian. 
We  must  concede  him  the  first  place  in  nautical  matters.  lie 
would  be  justified  by  his  Spanish  position  in  suppressing  cer- 
tain facts.  His  first  duty  was  to  his  own  master.  He  was  a 
scientific  theorist,  but  not  an  impostor. 

A  poem  upon  Cabot  was  read  by  Mr.  W.  Wilfred  Campl)ell. 

The  last  paper  was  by  the  President  of  the  Society,  Arch- 
bisliop  O'Brien.  It  was  an  elaborate  study,  illustrated  by 
diagrams,  and  presenting  some  novel  features.  Pas(jualigo,  he 
said,  gives  us  the  distance  sailed,  —  seven  hundred  leagues. 
Soncino  gives  the  direction  taken.  These  two  data,  however, 
do  not  suffice,  for  they  will  apply  to  Labrador,  Newfoundland, 
(U"  (^ape  Breton.  But,  happily,  Soncino  supplies  another  point 
which  has  been  overlooked.  He  says  that  Cabot  "passed  con- 
siderably the  country  of  Tanais,"  that  is,  evidently  its  latitude, 
according  to  the  early  custom  of  locating  unknown  shores  by 
comparing  them  with  well-kn(»wn  places  in  the  old  world. 
The  "country  of  Tanais"  is  the  area  included  within  the 
great  bend  of  the  river  Don,  between  the  AOth  and  the  48th 
degrees.  Bristol  is  about  51  degrees.  So  Cabot  must  have 
sailed  south  of  the  latitude  of  Tanais.  This  gives  us  a  third 
known  quantity,  which  enables  us  to  solve  the  problem.     We 


^ 


must,  therefore,  exclude  Labrador,  Cape  St.  John,  and  l?ona- 
vista.  Tlie  only  |  laeo  fulfilling  all  the  conditions  is  Capo 
lireton  Island,  (Mtlier  on  the  Atlantic  Coast,  or,  more  likely, 
within  the  (iulf,  southward  of  Cape  North,  near  Mt.  Squirrel. 
In  this  case  Cabot  did  not  see  Cape  Race,  but  passed  south 
and  west  of  it,  and  came  toward  Prince  Edward  Island,  and 
could  easily  have  coasted  the  gulf  in  nine  days.  The  Micmacs 
—  traces  of  whom  he  found  —  fished  in  the  G  ulf  and  never  went 
out  upon  the  ocean.  The  "seven  cities"  were  at  Chateau 
Harboi',  which  has  the  ap[)earanee  of  being  fortified. 

The  President  then  took  up  the  second  voyage,  and  handled 
the  Cosa  map  in  a  very  bold  and  ingenious  manner.  It  has 
been  generally  taken  for  granted  that  Cabot's  charts  have  been 
lost ;  but  let  us  examine  the  Cosa  map.  It  is  admitted  by  all 
that  the  northern  portion  is  founded  upon  information  derived 
from  Cabot  himself.  The  work  is  evidently  made  up  of  two 
pieces.  We  can  find  the  scale  on  which  the  portion  covered 
by  the  Spanish  Hag  is  drawn.  This  scale  does  not  fit  the 
coast  line  covered  by  the  English  flag.  We  infer,  therefore, 
that  Cosa  copied  that  part  from  another  man's  work.  Happily 
for  us,  he  did  not  attempt  to  reduce  it  to  his  own  scale.  Can  we 
then  discover  the  scale  of  Cabot's  shore  line?  We  must  dis- 
tinguish between  the  chart  and  the  map.  Only  the  chart  is 
.Cabot's.  The  most  southern  of  the  English  fiags  would  be  near 
Cape  Henry.  Cavo  descuhierto  is  the  cape  first  made  —  the 
landfall,  that  is.  Cape  Breton  Island,  in  latitude  4G°30'.  The 
distance  between  these  two  points  —  3|  inches  —  is  ten  degrees. 
i.'his  gives  us  the  scale  of  Cabot's  chart ;  namely,  |  of  an  inch 
to  a  degree.  This  clue  restores  Cabot's  chart  to  its  proper 
position.  Hut  we  see  a  distortion  in  Cosa's  map.  Cabot  sur- 
veyed the  coast  from  north  to  south.  Hence  Cavo  iV  Vn;ila- 
terra  cannot  be  Cape  Race.  Cosa,  in  joining  Cabot's  chart  to 
his  own,  made  it  run  east  and  west.  This  explains  the  fruit- 
less attempts  of  modern  scholars  to  understand  it.  It  ex- 
jdains  also  why  Cosa's  map  was  never  reproduced,  but  was 
quickly  laid  aside.  Yet  it  has  preserved  to  us  Cabot's  chart 
unmarred. 

The  Archbishop  saw  that  this  position  was  radical  and  called 
for  further  proof.  Accordingly  he  went  into  an  exhaustive 
argument  to  justify  his  statements.  Ajjplying  his  scale,  he 
found  Cavo  cC  Ynglaterra  to  be  Cape  Chidley  ;    Cavo  de  Jorge^ 


Cape  Race  —  fittingly  named  after  En<'Iaii(l',s  patron  saint; 
V.  t'rnli'  is  the  (Jreen  or  Grass  Island  of  to-day  ;  JxI'i  </(■  In 
Trenidnt  is  Oi^na  lAk  —  ('od  Island — in  ">7 '40',  with  three 
remarkable  hills.  Tlu;  small  island  near  the  second  (lag 
is  in  48  .")0',  and  must  he  Salile  Island.  Other  places  are 
identilied  after  the  same  fasliion  ;  and  the  author  seems  to 
have  convinced  himself,  if  not  others,  that  this  is  a  chart  of  the 
wliole  coast-line  from  Caj)e  Henry  to  the  north  of  Iludsoi-'s 
Hay.  lie  finds  another  proof  in  the  names  on  the  chart,  wliieh 
hear  marks  of  ("osa's  classical  condensation  from  Cabot's  rough 
English  phrases,  according  to  the  rules  of  the  time. 

Tlie  writer  thinks  he  has  reason  for  believing  that  Jolin 
Cabot  did  not  die  during  the  second  voyage,  but  returned 
unsuccessful,  and  dropped  out  of  sight,  as  indeed  Sebastian 
did  for  several  years.  Men  forgot  the  achievements  of  the 
father,  hearing  so  much  afterward  of  the  son  who  gained  a 
European  rei)Utation.  In  the  eyes  of  the  commercial  world 
the  father  liad  failed.  Some  day,  in  the  crypt,  or  amid  the 
other  dark  nooks  of  St.  Mary  Kedcliffe  at  Bristol,  a  slab  will 
yet  be  found  which  will  tell  us  when  and  how  John  Cabot 
died. 

The  crowning  feature  of  the  (  ccasion  was  the  unveiling  of 
the  tablet  at  the  Province  House  on  the  afternoon  of  the  24th. 
The  inscription,  which  was  carefully  prepared  by  Messrs. 
Bourinot  and  Dawson,  does  not  commit  the  Society  to  any  one 
of  the  theories  as  to  the  landfall. 

Through  the  kindness  of  E.  (Jilpin,  Escp,  F.  U  S.  C,  one  of 
the  Halifax  committee,  I  have  obtained  an  excellent  facsimile 
of  the  tablet  which  I  take  pleasure  in  presenting  to  the  Society. 
It  sliows  the  artistic  decorative  bt)rder  representing  the  royal 
arms  in  the  centre,  with  those  of  Bristol  and  Venice  on  either 
side,  and  the  good  ship  sailing  away  from  the  old-world  port 
toward  the  sun,  which  is  setting  behind  the  distant  shore. 

The  ceremony  of  unveiling  was  worthily  performed  by  his 
Excellency  the  CJovernor-(!eneral,  who  was  accoujpanied  by 
Lady  Aberdeen  and  a  large  nund)er  of  distinguished  guests 
re})resenting  the  Army  and  Navy,  the  Dominion,  the  Province, 
the  City,  and  foreign  lands.  Among  the  speakers  were  the 
Bristol  delegates,  Messrs.  Barker  and  Davies,  —  both  of  them 
recent  mayors  of  that  city, —  United  States  Coiisul-(Jeneral 
Ingi'ahara,   Mayor   Thacher   of   Albany,   and   Consul-General 


8 


SoliniherRo,  who  represented,  he  said,  the  City  of  Venice,  tlie 
Italian  (ieo^'iapliit'al  Society,  and  the  Ministry  of  I'uhlic  In- 
struction.    He  gave  a  glowing  address  (|iiite  charauteristic  of 


THIS  TAni.F/r   IS   IN   IKiNOl'U  OK  Till:   KAMOl'S  NAVIC.ATOU 

John   Cahot 

Who  under  .'uitliority  of  icttt'is-patfint  of  IIKN'IIV  VM  dirccliiif^ 
him  "/(>  coiii/ior  nrcii/ii/  mid  poitsc.iii"  for  K\(iLA\l)  all  lands  he 
might  find  "in  irhnlirrr  pitrl  of  the  irorlil  tlii'i/  lie,''  sailed  in  a 
BRISTOL  Ship  TlIK  MATTUKW.  and  first  planted  the  flags  of 
EN(;F.AN1)  and  VKNICE  on  the  'Jl'!'  of  June  14it7  on  the  north 
eastern  seaboard  of  NOIITII  AMKKICA,  and  hy  iiis  discoveries 
in  this  and  the  following  year  gave  to  IC\(iLAM)  a  claim  ujion 
the  Continent  wliich  the  coloni/.ing  spirit  of  her  sons   made  good 

in  later  times. 


-i3- 


-[>- 


T/ils  laldct  was  p/iireil  in  llii.t  hull  bij  the  Uoyai.  Socikty  of  Canada 
in  JiiNK  1S!»7  when  the  Bitrrisil  Kmi'IUK  icas  celehralinf/  the  sixTlKTil 
Aunirersnry  oflhe  Accession  of  Her  Mn/'esli)  Qukk.n  Victokia  during 
whose  hene/icent  reifjn  the  Dnininion  o/"  Canada  has  ertende.d  from  Ike 
shores  first  seen  In/  Cahot  and  Enijlish  sudors  four  hundred  ifears  before 
to  the  far  l'a>:ifie  coast. 

His  Kxcki.i.kncy  tiii;  ICaim.  ok  Akkudekn 

(lonrnor-Geiiend  of  Camilla. 

C  O'MiuKN,  D.l).  PiiKS.  H.S.C.  „,^  iioNouii  M.  B.  Daly 

[Archuisi.o..  ov  Hau.fax]     ,j,,,„„„„t  Gorernor  of  Nova  Scotia. 
.7.  G.  BouKiNor,  C.  M.  G.  Hon.  Skc.  R.  S.  C. 

CiTV   OF    BniSTOL    DKLKIiATES 


Wll.I.lAM     ROHKUTS     BaUKKK,  J.  1*. 
WlI.MAM    HoWKM.     DaVIKS,  J.  1'. 


his  race.  Speaking  of  the  adventurous  seamen  who  had  gone 
fortl)  from  the  Italian  maritime  republics  to  conduct  distant 
voyages  of  discovery,  he  said,  "  The  Cabotos  were  like  feathers 


9 

from  the  winged  Lion  of  St.  >riirk,"  (lyiii<;  to  tlii'se  wehttMii 
shores,  then  (hisuhitt',  l»nt  now  swarniin<j  witli  restless  activity. 
At  the  eoMclnsidii  of  his  speech  tiiree  roiisin<^  cheers  were 
given  for  the   King  of  Italy. 

Then  occurred  one  of  the  most  touching  incidents  of  tlio 
dny.  A  Micmac  Indian  woman  came  slowly  throngh  the 
crowd,  and  handed  to  the  (yountcss  a  dainty  basket  woven  of 
colored  splints, — a  line  specimen  of  nalivt^  handicraft.  She 
wore  the  hrilliant  dn'ss  of  her  trihe,  with  the  stiff  peaked  hood, 
—  a  survival,  I  presume,  of  the  skin  costume  of  her  ancestors, 
which  is  still  retained  in  northern  Labrador.  The  gift  was 
graciously  received  amid  the  api)laus('  of  the  company  ;  and 
several  other  Indians  came  up  with  their  chief,  Jwli'  Noel  of 
Shubenacadie,  and   \v  vr  presented  by  the  Archbisliop. 

The  IJluejackets  of  ^i.  Al.  S.  "  Crescent  "  acted  as  a  guard  of 
honor  during  the  exercises. 

I  ought  not  to  close  this  report  withou*^  alludinn  to  the 
social  coi  li  \ies  whi^di  were  extended  to  us  duriuL^  th;  whole 
week,  such  as  the  luncheon  given  by  the  President  of  the 
Society;  the  steamer  excursion  jvround  the  beautiful  harbor, 
given  by  the  government  of  Nova  Scotia ;  the  brilliant  recep- 
tion by  the  Lieutenant-(iovernor  and  Mrs.  Daly  ,  and  the  five- 
o'clock  teas  at  the  villa  of  Sir  Handford  Fleming  and  else- 
wdiere.  The  concluding  reception  was  held  at  the  Province 
House  by  the  Nova  Scotia  Historical  Society. 

The  Royal  Society  and  its  guests  were  also  invited  to  a  large 
meeting  in  the  Opera  House  in  honor  of  the  late  Joseph  Howe, 
the  eminent  statesman,  for  whom  a  statue  is  soon  to  be  pro- 
vided. The  oration  was  delivered  by  the  Rev.  Principal 
Grant,  of  Kingston. 

I  should  add  that  the  Faculty  of  Dalhousie  University  and 
other  citizens  of  Halifax  showed  us  many  personal  favors 
during  our  visit. 

The  Maine  Historical  Society —  the  nearest  of  all  our  State 
societies  to  the  landfall  of  1407  —  has  given  another  proof  of 
its  enterprising  spirit  by  having  a  Cabot  celebration  at  its  June 
meeting  in  Brunswick.  Papers  were  read  as  follows :  A  Brief 
RdsuHK^  of  Cabot's  Voyages,  by  Hon.  J.  P.  Baxter,  of  Port- 
land ;  The  Old  World  at  the  Dawn  of  Western  Discovery, 
Professor  J.  W.  Black,  of  Waterville  ;  The  Cartography  of 
the  Period,  Rev.  H.  S.  Burrage,  of  Portland  ;  The  Landfall 


10 

of  Cabot,  Professor  Willia.n  Macdonald,  of  Brunswick ;  The 
Value  and  Significance  of  Cabot's  Discovery,  Professor  John 
S.  Sewall,  of  Bangor. 


Messrs.  Charles  C.  Smith,  Samuel  A.  Green,  George  B. 
Chase,  and  Edward  G.  Porter  were  appointed  a  Committee 
to  publish  a  volume  of  Pepperrell  Papers,  from  the  original 
manuscripts  relating  to  the  siege  and  capture  of  Louisbourg, 
in  the  possession  of  the  Society. 


li:, 


I 


n 


